WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s surprise pledge to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of the United States” and his other renaming proposals will take more than a stroke of the president’s pen to come to fruition. Above.
During a wide-ranging press conference at a Florida resort this month, the president-elect said renaming the body of water that borders five southern states was “appropriate.” He even appeared to use the potential name change to pressure Mexican authorities to take further steps to curb the flow of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S. border.
“We’re going to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the beautiful ring of the Gulf of America,” President Trump said on January 7. “It covers a vast territory, the Gulf of America. What a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate.”
“And Mexico must stop the flow of millions of people into our country,” the president-elect said.
President Trump has also called for the restoration of the original names of Alaska’s Denali, the nation’s highest mountain, and Fort Liberty, a major military base in North Carolina, drawing bipartisan opposition in the process.
Several Republicans have already come forward to support his “American Gulf” proposal.
“I have no problem with that. I have no problem with what he said,” Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett said Tuesday. “He’s a deal maker.”
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia immediately jumped on President Trump’s remarks, expressing her support on social media and on television, and later joining Freedom Caucus members Missouri Congressman Eric Burleson and Tennessee’s Andy He introduced a bill with co-sponsors ranging from Mr. Ogles to battleground state Rep. Andy Ogles. Mike Lawler of New York.
Texas freshman Brandon Gill, another co-sponsor of the green bill, told CNN that the U.S. is not interested in some of Trump’s recent proposals, including taking back the Panama Canal and acquiring the Danish colony of Greenland. “There are clear strategic interests,” he said.
“President Trump is ushering us into America’s Golden Age. This is the new Manifest Destiny,” he told the network.
If President Trump were to move forward with his proposed rebranding of the Gulf of America, he would have to deal with Congress and possibly other groups.
Regarding waters, the International Hydrographic Organization works with its member states to “ensure the exploration and mapping of the world’s seas, oceans and navigable waters, thereby supporting the safety of navigation and the protection of the marine environment.” The newspaper said it was responsible. Its website.
The United States and Mexico are also members of the organization, which “coordinates the activities of national hydrographic offices and sets standards to promote uniformity in nautical charts and documentation,” the website states. has been done.
However, this “uniformity” does not exist across the board. Follow the river along the Texas-Mexico border. In America it is called Rio Grande. When you think of Mexico, you think of Rio Bravo.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum hit back at President Trump over his recent campaign promises, saying her country may start calling the United States “America Mexicana” or “Mexican America,” the Associated Press reported. .
“Sounds good, right?” Sheinbaum said at a Jan. 8 press conference, adding that the Gulf of Mexico has been called by that name since 1607.
“All references to the Gulf of Mexico in any law, map, regulation, document, document, or other record of the United States shall be deemed to be a reference to the Gulf of Mexico,” the draft bill for Congress, which Greene shared on social media, states. It is stated that. Reference to “American Gulf”. ”
“The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall oversee the implementation of the name change,” according to the draft.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer accused President Trump of “distracting America with a crazy idea” with the name change proposal, but signaled he might be open to a classic Washington horse race. did.
“We agree to work together on renaming the Gulf of Mexico, but only if Donald Trump first agrees to work on a real plan to reduce costs for Americans,” New York Democrats said on the Senate floor last week. I will.”
But if the green bill were to pass on the floor, President Trump would likely need nearly all House Republicans to vote in favor. Because the top Democrats in Congress don’t seem ready to participate in this.
“I think we have to focus on the issues that are important to the American people: housing is too expensive, groceries are too expensive, insurance is too expensive,” Hakeem Jeffries said. said House Minority Leader (D.N.Y.). He told reporters earlier this month. “Utilities and child care are too expensive. We must build an economy that is affordable to hardworking American taxpayers.”
On the campaign trail, President Trump vowed to reverse an effort promoted by the Biden administration to rename military bases in North Carolina that were previously named after Confederate generals. Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, whom he nominated for defense secretary, said all military bases once named for Confederate officials should restore their names, according to a media appearance seen by CNN. said.
The list also includes Fort Liberty in the Tar Heel State, formerly known as Fort Bragg. Home to the Army’s storied 82nd Airborne Division and the Army’s Special Operations Command, it was named for Confederate General Braxton Bragg, a slave owner for more than a century.
In 2020, the movement to rename military bases in honor of Confederate veterans gained momentum following nationwide protests after the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Lawmakers approved the creation of a naming committee of eight former military leaders to consider the issue in the fiscal year 2021 defense policy bill. The topic became a political flashpoint in 2020, with President Trump vetoing the defense measure in part because of the naming commission, only to be overruled by Congress.
This effort ultimately led to Fort Bragg and eight other U.S. military installations receiving new names.
Mr. Trump is likely to be able to act alone on at least one name change proposal.
He called for the highest mountain in North America, Denali in Alaska, to be renamed to honor William McKinley, the nation’s 25th president.
“They took his name from Mount McKinley,” President Trump told supporters in Phoenix on Dec. 22, referring to the name change initiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama, in 2015.
“He was a great president,” Trump said of McKinley, who has been compared to the next president because of tariffs and other protectionist economic policies. “That’s one of the reasons we’re bringing back the Mount McKinley name, because we think he deserves it.”
President Trump would no longer have to introduce legislation in Congress or wait through a cumbersome federal process to rename Denali. After years of lobbying by Alaska state officials, Secretary of the Interior Obama ordered the name change.
Roll Call’s Mark Satter contributed to this report.
